


Aftermath

by masquerade97



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: F/M, FIx It, Gen, Rogue One Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 17:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9281537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masquerade97/pseuds/masquerade97
Summary: In which Cassian and Jyn make it off of Scarif just before the base is destroyed





	

**Author's Note:**

> look......... i just wanted someone to live

Cassian came to with a sense of panic and a shooting pain in his back. He sat up quickly (too quickly, if the pain in his head and sides was to be believed) and looked around, remembering the blaster fire. He remembered telling Jyn to keep moving, and he looked up in time to see her disappear through an opening at the top of the data tower. Thankfully there didn’t seem to be any blaster fire following her, or waiting for her. 

Krennic had disappeared, and Cassian swore when he noticed the empty spot. He swore again when he felt that his shoulder had been knocked out of place. It wasn’t too hard to pop it back into place on the data tower, but it still hurt when he started climbing. 

It took longer than it should have for him to reach the top. He could picture it now, Krennic standing over Jyn, the _Stardust_ file in his hand. The thought pushed him to climb faster; he’d be damned if all this had been for nothing. 

When he finally swung himself up through the opening, Cassian could see Jyn, standing on the edge of a platform that was barely hanging on to the communications tower. Krennic stood in front of her, his blaster raised. 

If nothing else, it seemed Jyn was good at stalling for time. Krennic was talking, and Cassian managed to get a shot off before Krennic even knew he was there. 

Jyn looked like she’d seen a ghost, and for the first time Cassian thought that maybe Jyn had thought he’d died. Presently, he wasn’t entirely sure he’d survived, but whether or not he was still around he was glad to see the data files start to transmit. If the files were transmitting, the shields were down. If the shields were down, maybe the Rebels could retrieve them. Maybe something good would come out of this, eventually. 

Cassian caught the look in Jyn’s eye when she spotted Krennic, and he just managed to keep her from going after him again. He wasn’t worth it, not after all this. Krennic didn’t deserve the energy it would take them to spit in his direction. 

The aerial battles were still raging, and Cassian and Jyn could hear the blasters as they rode the elevator down. For a moment, the air hung heavily between them. They were in the middle of a battle, one they were surely losing, even if they’d won. They were alive, for now. That seemed significant. 

The elevator opened to the beach, and Cassian tried the communicator. There was no answer from Bodhi, and when Cassian glanced in the direction of LP9 he saw smoke rising. His heart sank, but he didn’t have much time to dwell on it; he was leaning heavily on Jyn as they made their way to the beach. They could see a massive star ship in the sky, and Cassian thought that it must be the Death Star. It fired off a beam of light that hit the water a few miles out from the base, and the light and heat were incredible even from this distance. 

Cassian and Jyn collapsed on the beach; what more could they do? Jyn had her eyes glued to the explosion off the coast when Cassian looked at her. 

“Your father would be proud,” he said. 

Jyn glanced up at him and managed the smallest of smiles. She didn’t seem capable of saying too much. Then her gaze caught somewhere over Cassian’s shoulder and her eyes widened. 

Cassian turned to find a Rebel ship heading toward them. He had no idea how the pilot had noticed them out here, but he didn’t question it when the ship touched down, the hatch on its side already half-open. 

“Hurry!” someone inside called. 

Cassian forced himself to his feet, his injured leg almost giving out. He thought the adrenaline from earlier must have masked the pain from a break, or at the very least a bad sprain. He stumbled on his first step but Jyn managed to catch him. Someone disembarked the ship and helped get Jyn and Cassian aboard. 

As soon as the last person was on, the ship took off as its hatch slid shut. The ship rocketed through the fights that were still going on, narrowly avoiding being hit by a few blasts, sustaining what Cassian hoped was minor damage from others. It was bright in the ship from the Death Star’s blast, and Cassian could hear one of the crew near him muttering, “Come on, come on,” to himself. 

There was a _boom_ from outside and Cassian wondered whether they’d broken the sound barrier or been hit particularly hard. 

“Hope you’re strapped in,” someone called, and then there was the unmistakable jump to hyperspace. 

“You alright?” the crewman from before asked when the ship had leveled out. 

Neither Cassian nor Jyn answered him at first, and the man’s expression grew more concerned than it had been before. He gestured to someone who wore the uniform of a medic. 

Jyn didn’t seem to be too badly beat up. She looked bruised and beaten, but otherwise looked to be in good physical shape. The medic seemed to agree and turned his attention to Cassian. 

Cassian’s leg burned with pain, and his shoulder was still sore where he’d shoved it back into its socket. When the medic asked him to straighten up, he felt the muscles in his back protest and winced against the pain. The same happened when he tried to take a deep breath, and his vision had started to swim. It seemed that here, away from battle, his adrenaline was fading and leaving pain in its wake. 

“Cassian?” 

He glanced up at the sound of Jyn’s voice and saw an almost panicked expression on her face. He wondered if it was because of him. He heard the medic say something, but couldn’t make out what. 

*~*~*~*~* 

Cassian wasn’t sure how long he was unconscious, but when he awoke he recognized his surroundings as the infirmary on Yavin-4. He was sore everywhere, but he pushed himself to sitting anyway as he surveyed his surroundings. He was hooked up to a heart monitor and there was an IV in his hand. His muscles felt like they were on fire, but he felt like he was in one piece, aside from a dull throbbing in his skull. There was a brace on his injured leg and another around his midsection. 

A nurse arrived a few minutes later, and smiled when she saw he was up. She took his vitals while she told him the extent of his injuries. She told him he had been unconscious for a week, and during that time the major damage to his body had been repaired – his internal bleeding had been stopped, two tendons in his leg had been repaired, and he had a slight crack on one of his vertebrae. 

“Aside from the head injury and the cracked ribs, you’re good to go,” the nurse said. She sounded like she wanted to be cheery but found that routine to be tedious. “We’re going to keep you here for a while longer to make sure you don’t do anything to reinjure yourself, and then you’ll be good to go.” 

Cassian nodded and closed his eyes against the throbbing in his skull. They’d kept him for a while the last time he’d been in the infirmary, and he remembered it as a dull experience. “What about,” he started, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat to try again, but the nurse put a hand on his arm to stop him. 

“You and Jyn were the only two from the Rogue team to make it out,” she said gently. “Jyn sustained minor injuries. She’s been assigned rooms here.” 

Cassian wanted to say something, but he couldn’t think of anything. Did he ask to see Jyn? Could he _handle_ seeing Jyn? 

“We’ll inform her that you’re awake,” the nurse said, as if she’d read his thoughts. She smiled slightly. “She’s been asking about you.” 

Cassian furrowed his brow and sat up straighter. 

“We’ll let her know you’re going to be okay,” the nurse continued, “but you won’t have visitors for a while yet. You need your rest.” 

“Okay,” Cassian said, suddenly feeling like a child. He wanted to protest, to say that he could handle visitors, but he couldn’t think of a reason that the nurse would believe. Besides, his mind was going fuzzy again. 

“Rest,” the nurse said. “You’ll be out of here soon.” 

*~*~*~*~* 

It was another week before Cassian saw anyone but the nurse. 

He woke one morning (or evening, if he was being honest – he couldn’t tell the time in this featureless room) to find Jyn sitting in a chair nearby. She had a book open on her lap, and she seemed to be trying her damnedest to make herself interested in its contents. 

“Jyn?” Cassian asked. 

She jumped at the sound of her name, but relief flooded her face when she saw he was awake. 

“I’ve been worried sick,” Jyn said. She looked it too; there was a restless energy about her, and dark circles under her eyes. “All I got the first three days you were in here was that they had you in surgery. _Surgery_. And your back was broken–” 

“Jyn,” Cassian said, and he sounded tired to his own ears. He managed half a smile. “I’m glad you’re alive.” 

Something about her relaxed, though she still looked ready to jump at the next thing that moved too fast. “Yeah. Me too,” she said. “And you.” 

Cassian pushed himself up so he was sitting. “Did they tell you when they’re letting me out of here?” 

“In a few days,” Jyn replied. “But they’ve been saying that since you got here.” 

Cassian just nodded. They sat in silence for a while, only a little uncomfortable. 

“The others–” Jyn started. 

“I know,” Cassian interrupted. “I don’t want to talk about them.” 

Jyn nodded uncertainly. “The Alliance received the plans.” 

Cassian closed his eyes. “Please. I don’t want to talk about it.” 

Jyn’s jaw tightened, but she let it go. 

It had been a bad idea for them to let her in here. Cassian had thought he could handle it, but he remembered the others too well, especially when she was around. He had thought that getting the plans for the Death Star would make him feel better about all the horrible things he had done for the Rebellion, but he didn’t think the pain of knowing he’d helped the others to their deaths was a better substitute. And right now just being in the same room as her was helping him to think too much. 

“Jyn,” Cassian started, and he hoped he didn’t make the words sound too harsh, “could you leave me be? For now?” 

Something about her stiffened, but she nodded tersely and let herself out. 

Cassian sighed and laid back again. It was about time for the nurse to be back. 

*~*~*~*~* 

Cassian was released soon after Jyn’s visit. They gave him a cane and he had a significant limp for a while because of the brace on his leg, but that didn’t stop him from walking. The movement helped him keep his mind occupied so it didn’t settle too long on what had happened. No one bothered him after he snapped at someone in the mess. 

He noticed Jyn around, but she didn’t try to talk to him. He felt an ache in his gut when he caught her eye and she looked away, but he couldn’t make himself talk about the beach, about the data bank, about the moment in the elevator. 

The weeks went by and Cassian noticed Jyn keeping an eye on him. It was fleeting, and she never got in his way, but he could feel her gaze on him. She always looked away when he turned to face her. A few times he saw her head down to the flight bay, but whenever he followed her he noticed she didn’t get too close to the ships. He couldn’t blame her; he didn’t know when he’d be okay to get in one of them again either. 

It was only after the brace came off of Cassian’s leg that he decided he would talk to Jyn. He didn’t know if either of them would get through it without something stiff to drink, but he knew he couldn’t leave her alone forever. Neither one of them had really talked to anyone since they’d been back, and Cassian hadn’t missed the concerned looks they’d been getting. 

One night, on his walk through the base, Cassian paused outside Jyn’s room. He could hear her on the other side, and she sounded like she was crying. Guilt made his heart sink at the sound. 

“Jyn?” he asked quietly, rasping his knuckled lightly on the door. The sound inside immediately ceased and he tried again. 

Finally, the door slid open to reveal Jyn in a loose shirt and sweatpants. Her eyes were puffy, but she held herself ramrod straight, as if daring him to make a comment. Her expression softened slightly when she recognized him. 

“Are you okay?” Cassian asked. He knew it was a stupid question, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say. 

Jyn hesitated, as if she had planned on snapping out her response as he’d seen her do when others had asked her the same question. After a beat, she shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself. 

Cassian took a deep breath. It was a big thing to admit, but he figured if she had, then he should too. “Neither am I.” 

They stood watching each other for a minute. A muscle in Jyn’s jaw was working, but she stepped back from the door and jerked her head to the side, signaling that he should enter. 

Her room wasn’t large, but none of them here were. She had a bathroom on one side at least. 

Cassian heard the faint hiss of the door sliding shut, and then Jyn was at his side, not quite touching him. 

“I have nightmares,” she whispered. “I see them.” 

“I do too,” Cassian admitted, his voice just as quiet as hers. He hadn’t realized there were tears on his cheeks until that moment. He wasn’t sure when they’d started. 

“Tell me it was worth it,” Jyn said. She said it so quietly that her voice was barely audible. 

“You said the Rebels received the plans?” 

Jyn nodded. 

“Then it was worth it,” Cassian replied. “I’d do it again,” he added, though he wasn’t sure he would; it sounded like the kind of thing she needed to hear. 

Jyn looked at the ground before she made her way to her bed. She patted the spot next to her, and Cassian lowered himself gingerly, trying not to spook her. When he’d stretched out beside her, she curled up against him, one of her arms going around his torso. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. He could feel her tears through his shirt, and his own tears on his cheeks. He pressed his face into her hair and squeezed his eyes shut. 

They stayed like that for a long time, allowing themselves to be comforted by the presence of the only other person from their team who had made it off of that forsaken island. After a while though, they both managed to fall asleep. 

Neither one of them could remember a night when they’d slept so well. 


End file.
